What is O-4 BAH at Columbia in 2026?

$2,151 per month without dependents ($25,812 per year), effective 01 JAN 2026. with dependents it is $2,517 per month.

Does BAH count as taxable income?

No. BAH is excluded from federal taxable income, so a given BAH amount is worth more than the same figure in basic pay.

What happens if my BAH rate drops this year?

BAH rate protection holds you at the prior year's amount as long as your duty location, pay grade and dependency status stay the same. The lower rate applies to members arriving on new orders.

O-4 BAH at Columbia 2026 — $2,151/mo without dependents

Basic Allowance for Housing by duty station, pay grade and dependency status. Official DoD rates, no login, no email.

Columbia/Fort Jackson, SC

O-4 · without dependents

$2,151/ month

$25,812 / year

At O-4, this is #229 of 338 stations loaded · high Westchester County $5,874 · low Youngstown $1,497

MHA SC260 · ZIPs 29002 29006 29009 29016 29020 29021 +60 more

Your grade is calledARMYMAJUSMCMajNAVYLCDRUSAFMaj

Untaxed — matching it with taxable pay takes$2,758 / mo gross

Other dependency status here$2,517 with dependents

In government quarters, no dependents$50.10 / mo partial

Columbia — full sheetTap a row

Grade	With dep.	Without
Enlisted
E-1	$1,812	$1,479
E-2	$1,812	$1,479
E-3	$1,812	$1,479
E-4	$1,812	$1,479
E-5	$1,878	$1,647
E-6	$2,121	$1,746
E-7	$2,160	$1,812
E-8	$2,202	$1,932
E-9	$2,310	$1,995
Warrant officer
W-1	$2,136	$1,803
W-2	$2,175	$1,929
W-3	$2,235	$2,004
W-4	$2,340	$2,121
W-5	$2,475	$2,166
Officer — prior enlisted
O-1E	$2,163	$1,875
O-2E	$2,223	$1,980
O-3E	$2,361	$2,109
Officer
O-1	$1,914	$1,743
O-2	$2,118	$1,860
O-3	$2,232	$2,028
O-4	$2,517	$2,151
O-5	$2,724	$2,172
O-6	$2,745	$2,211
O-7	$2,760	$2,247

What this rate means

O-4 without dependents, nearest stations0 – $5,874 / month

Westchester County$5,874

Fort Bliss$2,157

Fayetteville$2,157

Greensboro$2,157

Roanoke$2,154

Columbia$2,151

Marquette$2,148

Fort Wayne$2,145

County Cost Group 770$2,139

Davis-Monthan AFB$2,139

Youngstown$1,497

Columbia is #229 of 338. The spread between the dearest and cheapest station at this grade is $4,377 a month — $52,524 a year, untaxed.

Every pay grade at Columbia0 – $2,247 / month

E-1$1,479

E-2$1,479

E-3$1,479

E-4$1,479

E-5$1,647

E-6$1,746

E-7$1,812

E-8$1,932

E-9$1,995

W-1$1,803

W-2$1,929

W-3$2,004

W-4$2,121

W-5$2,166

O-1E$1,875

O-2E$1,980

O-3E$2,109

O-1$1,743

O-2$1,860

O-3$2,028

O-4$2,151

O-5$2,172

O-6$2,211

O-7$2,247

Promoting to O-5 here adds $21 a month. The pay chart moves this allowance far less than the map does.

Where you are stationed outweighs what you are paid. Moving from Columbia to Westchester County at O-4 is worth $3,723 a month — about 177 promotions worth of housing allowance, at $21 per grade here.

Dependency status is worth 17% here. That is a status your finance office determines, not a box you tick — and it is the single largest lever on this page that is not a change of address.

None of it is taxed. $2,151 a month of BAH takes more than $2,151 of basic pay to match, which is why comparing a civilian salary against military base pay alone understates the gap.

Things the rate table doesn't tell you

“With dependents” is a dependency status, not a marital status. A single member paying child support can be authorized BAH-Diff; a married dual-military couple with no children is not automatically the with-dependents rate for both. If your situation is unusual, your finance office decides — not this table.

O-8, O-9 and O-10 draw the same BAH as O-7. The table stops there for a reason, not because it is missing rows.

This is CONUS BAH only. Overseas is OHA, which works differently — it reimburses actual rent up to a cap, with separate utility and move-in allowances. Alaska and Hawaii are BAH; Germany, Japan and Korea are OHA.

O-4 without dependents at Columbia draws $2,151 per month in 2026

What this rate means

Things the rate table doesn't tell you